In this paper, an adaptive backstepping controller of hypersonic flight vehicle (HFV) system is investigated in the presence of unknown actuator and sensor faults, unknown control direction and varying external disturbance, which expands traditional fault-tolerant control (FTC) approaches in HFV field. The control-oriented model is established with reasonable and comprehensive analysis of various fault types. Compared with the previous FTC research on HFV system, the time-varying and fixed fault types are simultaneously designed for actuator and sensors, and the control direction is unknown, which can more accurately simulate the real fault situations in the hypersonic flight environment. To avoid singularity problems caused by the unknown control direction, the Nussbaum gain function technique is adopted in the control algorithm, which is also capable of overcoming the influence of unknown time-varying fault parameters. The boundness and stability of system under the designed control scheme are theoretically verified. Finally, numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control strategy.

Steinernema populi n. sp. was recovered by baiting from beneath poplar trees in China. Morphological and molecular features provided evidence for placing the new species into the Kushidai clade. The new species is characterized by the following morphological features: third-stage infective juveniles (IJ) with a body length of 1095 (973–1172) μm, a distance from the anterior end to excretory pore of 77 (70–86) μm and a tail length of 64 (55–72) μm. The Body length/Tail length (c) ratio and Anterior end to Excretory pore/ Tail length × 100 (E%) of S. populi n. sp. are substantially greater than those of all other ‘Feltiae–Kushidai–Monticolum’ group members. The first-generation males can be recognized by a spicule length of 66 (57–77) μm and a gubernaculum length of 46 (38–60) μm. The new species is further characterized by sequences of the internal transcribed spacer and partial 28S regions of the ribosomal DNA. Phylogenetic analyses show that Steinernema akhursti and Steinernema kushidai are the closest relatives to S. populi n. sp.

Theoretical investigations on ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) with asymmetric electrodes and a composite barrier are presented. A large tunneling electroresistance effect exists for the Pt/SrTiO3/BaTiO3/SrRuO3 junction; on the other hand, exchange of the dielectric and ferroelectric layer stacking sequence can seriously degrade the performance. These correlations are rationalized by the proposed concept of an asymmetry factor, defined as the ratio between the average barrier heights of FTJs for two opposite polarization orientations. We show that a large asymmetry factor is beneficial to FTJs. This work may provide a way to enhance the performance of FTJs by structure engineering.

A free standing 2D PS colloidal crystal with Au nanoshells/hydrogel composite film (CAuHCF) was fabricated by embedding a 2D PS colloidal crystal with Au nanoshells into a polyacrylic acid (PAA) hydrogel film. This CAuHCF can act as a visualized sensor with high diffraction intensity. The 2D PS colloidal crystal with Au nanoshells was prepared by depositing an Au layer on PS colloidal crystal obtained by interfacial self-assembly. The diffraction intensity of the CAuHCF was increased by about 30-fold than that of traditional 2D PS colloidal crystal/hydrogel composite film on transparent substrate due to large scattering cross section of Au shell. Such sensors based Au nanoshells array with the simple preparation process and the strong diffraction signal are promising ones for practical applications in visual detection. Additionally, with the simple preparation process and high diffraction intensity, other visualized sensors based different hydrogel matrix and the 2D PS colloidal crystal with Au nanoshells could be synthesized for monitoring various analysts.

Microstructure and electrochemical behavior of stainless steel weld overlay cladding exposed to post weld heat treatment (PWHT) were investigated, wherein pitting and intergranular corrosion behaviors of the cladding material were evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation methods. The results indicated that inclusions, multiple element (Mn, Si, and Al) oxides distributed randomly in the cladding material with a size less than 1 μm. PWHT contributed to carbides precipitation along the δ/γ phase interface and the formation of Cr-depleted zone in the austenite phase. Inclusions acted as the pitting sites in the sample as welded. PWHT reduced the pitting potential and contributed to the formation of larger and deeper pits, which nucleated around the δ/γ phase interface primarily. Existence of carbides and Cr-depleted zone dominated the loss of intergranular corrosion resistance after PWHT.

As the energy spread of intense pulsed electron beams (IPEB) strongly influences the irradiation effects, it has been of great importance to characterize the IPEB energy spectrum. With the combination of Child–Langmuir law and Monte Carlo simulation, the IPEB energy spectrum has been obtained in this work by transformation from the accelerating voltage applied to the diode. To verify the accuracy of this simple algorithm, a magnetic spectrometer with an imaging plate was designed to test the IPEB energy spectrum. The measurement was completed with IPEB generated by explosive emission electron diode, the pulse duration, maximum electron energy, total beam current being 80 ns, 450 keV, and 1 kA, respectively. The results verified the reliability of the above analysis method for energy spectrum, which can avoid intercepting the beam, and at the same time significantly improved the energy resolution. Some calculation and experimental details are discussed in this paper.

In the experiments reported here, we used the female ladybird Coccinella septempunctata L. as a model to identify diapause-associated proteins using proteomics technology. Our results indicated that protein expression patterns of diapausing and nondiapausing individuals were highly differentiated. A total of 58 spots showed significant differences in abundance (Ratio > 2 and P < 0.05) according to two-dimensional electrophoresis and GE Image Scanner III analysis. Sixteen protein spots were further investigated using mass spectrometry. Eight proteins were characterized, including chaperones and proteins involved in glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Among these proteins, five proteins were upregulated in diapausing female adults, including a chaperone (Symbionin symL), malate dehydrogenase (putative), two proteins linked to lipid metabolism (unknown and conserved hypothetical protein) and phosphoglyceromutase (partial). By contrast, isocitrate dehydrogenase (RH49423p), fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (AGAP001942-PA), and a putative medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase were downregulated. These results contribute to the understanding of diapause mechanisms of the ladybird C. septempunctata and may suggest methods for improving the application of this natural enemy insect.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs, EC 2.5.1.18) are a family of super enzymes with multiple functions that play a major role in the detoxification of endogenous and xenobiotic compounds. In our previous study, we have predicted 23 putative cytosolic GSTs in the silkworm genome using bioinformatic methods. In this study, we cloned and studied the insect-specific epsilon-class GST gene GSTe4 from the silkworm, Bombyx mori. The recombinant BmGSTe4 (Bac-BmGSTe4) was overexpressed in SF-9 cell lines, and it was found to have effective GST activity. We also found that the expression of BmGSTe4 was especially down-regulated after the silkworms were fumigated with or ingested phoxim. Moreover, BmGSTe4 protected HEK293 cells against UV-induced cell apoptosis. These results demonstrated that BmGSTe4 has GST activity, is sensitive to phoxim, and plays a role in inhibition of UV-induced cell apoptosis.

In this paper, a method of two-dimensional fine-scanning with charge coupled device has been conducted to precisely measure spatial position and intensity distribution of small-scale focal spot (diameter in microns). The measurement accuracy of the small-scale focal spot position is better than 1 µm when the fluctuations of the light energy and background noise are relatively small. The theoretical analysis is consistent with the experimental results.

The photocatalyst BaZn1/3Nb2/3O3 with ABO3 perovskite structure has been synthesized by using a solid-state reaction process. It was characterized by x-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The luminescence band centers around 285 nm and shows a large Stokes shift compared with the excitation spectrum, indicating a strong electron–phonon interaction in the photocatalyst BaZn1/3Nb2/3O3. The electronic structure of BaZn1/3Nb2/3O3 was calculated by using the pseudopotential method of the density function theory. It shows that the conduction band should be mainly composed of the Nb 4d states, and the valence band should be mainly composed of the O 2p state. The densities of the O 2p states and the Zn 4s states at the bottom of the conduction band are very low. The Zn 4s states show an expanded structure, which was proposed to be helpful for the migration of the photoexcited carriers, thus favoring the photocatalytic activity of BaZn1/3Nb2/3O3.

Compositional and microstructural differences from bottom to top along a water-quenched Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 alloy rod, 90 mm in length and 22 mm in diameter, were investigated experimentally by x-ray diffraction measurement, differential scanning calorimetry, and composition analysis. The results show that the upper part of the rod contains more beryllium atoms and is amorphous. The lower part with less beryllium atoms contains crystalline phases. The composition gradient is possibly due to the gravity-driven transport of Be-rich clusters and un-melted tiny solid pieces in the alloy melt.

Crystals reveal a large variety of shapes, depending on the chemical composition and the structure of crystals, and the growth conditions. To predict precisely the growth morphology of crystals remains a challenging issue for both academia and industry. In this paper, the principles for predicting the growth morphology of crystals based on the best available theories are highlighted and demonstrated.